Episode 205: An 1853 Rowland Robinson Letter

S5E25: "First Day: An 1853 letter and how it depicts everyday life in the era"

Jonathan Ahl of the Rokeby Museum in Vermont returns to the podcast to walk us through an 1853 letter from his museum’s archive that simultaneously tells us so little but shows us so much.  

Rowland Robinson, who would go on to be a well-recognized writer and artist, wrote a letter to his mother Rachael, describing the goings-on around their home on a Sunday ("First Day," in Quaker terminology) afternoon in September, as she was away recuperating from an illness.  Unlike so many other similar pieces from the same time period, Rowland's letter doesn't report of major events, but instead gives us an incredible first-hand view of everyday life in the mid 19th century.

#history #quakers #abolitionists #19thcentury #vermont